Second Wind
By Ysabet
Chapter 10: Hard Lessons
The scene would replay itself over and over later on before Kisaki Eri's eyes, looping and looping in an unwanted sequence of events…..
*BOOOOOOM!!!*
First there was the sound: a gunshot from close behind, dull and loud and echoing in the tiled hallway. She felt something strike her from behind, as if somebody had *kicked* her hard just below the ribs on her left lower back—it didn't hurt at first, but the impact spun her half around and made her stumble and fall sprawling.
And then it DID hurt, a spreading torment of fiery pain that grew and grew as she lay gasping-----
Next there was the sight that met her eyes from her floor-level view: a man, short and stocky, his arms outstretched in a ridiculously clumsy shooter's position, holding a rather small handgun. Funny how big it looked from where she lay. He was walking forward, his face shiny with sweat, eyes oddly glazed; he was saying something, too, but the roaring that was building in her ears seemed to be getting in the way of the words somehow…..
Oh; she had been shot. That made sense; it explained why she was lying on the floor. But somehow it suddenly seemed horribly unfair that she had been shot by someone whom she had yet to meet.
Everything felt… disconnected… the pain in her back, the cold floor beneath her, the noise of her breathing.
(I'm in shock, I guess)
Where were the kids? That was important, wasn't it? Oh wait, there was the big one, Genta—his ankles kept getting in front of her face, she couldn't see the shooter (it had to be Ojiwa-san, right? As far as she knew he was the only one at the moment that might be wanting to shoot her.) Mitsuhiko? He was here, she could hear his frightened voice even if she couldn't understand him—oh, to one side, there he was (get away, you little idiots)—and he was crying out; she felt small hands on her shoulder, shaking her. Ayumi-chan?
and then there was Sonoko (her face was so strange, white and spattered with something, she was leaning over Eri and then turning to face away from her, fists clenched)
Where was Ayumi-chan? Why was everybody shouting?
She couldn't see properly, couldn't hear; in fact, she couldn't tell anything much, because the floor seemed to be right in her face now. When had that happened, and why was it so damned dark in the hallway all of a sudden----------------
* * *
-----noise--- WHAT was that noise?? He had heard something just like it, a few minutes earlier-----
-----no, that had been his own feet, kicking the end of the box he was in—had been in—he was OUT now-----
(it had been, hadn't it? Where would he have heard a gunshot from while he was in the box? Thin and tinny, like over a microphone—oh yeah, he had a bug in Nodomo's office, right… who had been shooting a gun in Nodomo's office?)
-----but what was that noise? It was important-----
Screams, the shrieks of small children, a wordless bellow from right above his head, and he was being held tight, too tight by strong arms that half crushed him and made his vision darken and flutter with spots----- That was Ojisan's voice, yelling right then, and that scream, that was Ayumi-kun….. Why was she screaming? And where was Ran?
He blinked, trying to see past the glare, through the rough jostling and the folds of something that were wrapped around him-----
Oh shit…..
Ojiwa.
Half-stifled, Conan struggled to sit up; whoever was holding him (Ojisan-- Mouri?) turned a little, blocking most of his view, and Rin moved up beside him; he realized belatedly that they must be trying to keep him hidden from sight. Pain bloomed in his head from his movements; he could feel the blood-encrusted bump on one side rasping painfully against Mouri-san's chest as the man tucked himself around him. Spots danced in front of his eyes; what the hell was going on out there??
And then he heard him, heard the half-unintelligible voice growling like a beast, like a murderer—
"—bastards, you're ALL after me, aren't you? Well, you won't get me—I'll lock you all away where you won't be found— I'll take care of ALL of you—" Conan felt himself yanked painfully backwards as Mouri moved, cursing; the man shoved Rin back with the same movement, and she shrieked as she stumbled over something in the doorway of the storage room. The noises of the gunshots seemed to echo over and over and over in the tiny space, but they weren't enough to hide the terrified cries of young voices in the hallway.
*BOOOOM!! BOOMBOOMBOOM---*
Something thudded hard, THWACK!! THWACK-THWACK-THWACK!!! into the wall that they crouched behind, and the boy felt a wash of relief surge over him as he realized that the gunshots were aimed at them, not at the kids.
*Run like hell, guys-- *
But outside in the hall there was another flurry of noise; a high voice squeaked in terror and Mouri-san cursed again, shouting "LET HER GO, DAMMIT!! Ojiwa, listen!!! You don't need to—" What the hell was going on? God, his head ached. He gasped, twisting in the man's grip as he tried to sit up again; beside him Rin shook her head violently, pressing a small hand against his chest and crushing his fingers in hers. *What's going on out there?? Are the kids alright? Genta and Mitsuhiko and Ayumi—*
Ayumi-chan. That had been her voice just then…..
Mad laughter from outside the doorway, echoing in the hallway. "Oh yes I do—you won't touch me if I've got her with me, will you? I know how you work—you can't pull anything on me, damn you….. Just keep back and she'll be fine, just fine….." His voice was sharp and spiky with adrenaline and with something else, something that made his words pitch and dip crazily in tone, made him talk just a little too rapidly, made paranoia leak from every sentence. Through his horror Conan could hear the tiny, analytical voice in the back of his head thinking Drugs; he's dusted again, just like when he caught me. Must be some sort of stimulant, maybe a cocaine derivative or some new type of— He cut the thought off hurriedly; no time for that now.
Ayumi was in trouble; the bastard had grabbed her as a hostage.
More crazed words from the hallway; Conan heard a creak beside him and turned his head to see Hei-san balancing carefully on a stack of dusty somethings as he peered through the now-open transom window. The Janitor was fishing in his pocket, pulling out something round and silver—a marble-sized ball-bearing?—that he curled his fingers around and drew back in preparation to throw. The strong, narrow hand arched back, then whipped forward—
*CRACK!!!* The sound of impact was as loud as any gunshot, but the boy saw Hei-san wince, saw his lips move in a muttered "dammit" and felt his own heart sink. An impact on flesh—Ojiwa's thick skull, for instance—wouldn't have sounded so sharp.
From the hallway came short, choppy words, each one distinct as a dart striking home: "Try that again and I'll blow her head off." Ayumi whimpered faintly, her voice muffled; Rin caught her breath on a sob, her hand tightening to a fist where she clutched at Conan's fingers. *Goddamit, don't you hurt Ayumi-kun!! Can't anybody do anything? Shit, I can hardly move—AYUMI-KUN--*
"Now. I'm just going to walk down this hall, and you're going to let me do it… or you're going to find pieces of this little brat all over the walls. Understand? Understand me??" Ojiwa was suddenly remarkably calm—that made him sound even more insane than anything else had. Unhappily Mouri Kogoro grunted in affirmative; his eyes were hard and desperate, fixed on something outside in the hallway that Conan could not see. "What about the girl? You can't take her with you if you run—" he demanded, his voice harsh."
The madman outside in the hallway laughed shrilly. "Don't… try to tell me what I can and can't do….. She'll be just fine unless I see you again. Now shut up—and stay where you are." The clatter of his shoes as he backed down the hallway was clear—as was Ayumi's small shuffling and her faint sniffles, dying away slowly into the distance.
Mouri waited there, crouched behind the doorjamb and still clutching his burden; Conan lay still, one thought repeating itself over and over in his battered brain: Godammit, don't you hurt her!
Two minutes went by, three, then four, then—
No more sound from the hallway. No, actually there had been a sound, something that the boy had unconsciously ignored in the worries of the moment but could now hear clearly….. As Mouri-san stood up again shakily to stagger out the doorway, Rin broke past him to run forward to the two figures that lay on the floor making the soft, gasping sounds that Conan was just now noticing-----
Kisaki Eri, who lay on her side in a pool of blood with Suzuki Sonoko slumped over her.
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The next few minutes were as confused as the previous ones had been; from his viewpoint within Mouri's grasp, Conan could do little other than stay where he was and try weakly to remain conscious. Things kept fading in and out; after his enforced confinement (he wondered how long it had really been) the noise and brightness of the hallway was dizzying. Or maybe that was the concussion?
He bit back a sharp gasp as he was handed over roughly into someone else's hands as Mouri tore out of the doorway into the hall. Maybe he was unconscious; yeah, that sounded good. Maybe he was just dreaming that Ayumi-kun had been grabbed up by Ojiwa, or that he had just been passed to…..
…..oh, no way; no, he HAD to be dreaming, this clinched it….. Even Ojisan wouldn't be so utterly, mind-numbingly stupid as to give him to—but he didn't know, did he? *This would be humiliating if it wasn't so damned serious.*
Strong hands placed his lightweight form gently on the floor, propping him up against a box; Hei-san's rather bland brown eyes stared quizzically down at him, mouth quirking up at one corner ever so faintly despite the situation in the hall. "Glad to have you back… Conan-kun," murmured the janitor; at the boy's widened eyes he shook his head a trifle, quickly touching one finger to his lips. "Later—got bigger things to worry about than that right now….."
Well, at least they agreed on something. Eri-san and Sonoko-----
From where he lay, he could just see that Sonoko was sitting up, one hand to her upper arm; blood was leaking between her fingers and her voice was shaking and strained as she said that she was all right, that it was just a little scratch, that was all….. But Eri-san made no sound other than her harsh breathing. Mouri was crouched over her, still cursing steadily—Conan thought he saw her move— Yes, her hand was gripping his; she was trying to talk.
*Ojiwa you absolute bastard--*
* * *
Rin smoothed her mother's disheveled hair back from her forward for the hundredth time as the others worked on stopping the bleeding; Agasa-san held a makeshift compress against the wound in her back (God, there was so much blood!) and the woman bit back a groan as the scientist shifted his grip. Beside her Sonoko held back her own sobs, trying not to flinch as Ai tightened the bandage on her arm. The blonde young woman's face was tear-streaked; she had been creased by one of the bullets fired towards the storage room as she tried to shield Eri's body in what might have been considered an uncharacteristic move for Sonoko if one were to be uncharitable. She leaned forward to touch Rin's shoulder with her good hand. "I-is she going to be okay?" Her voice was shaking.
Rin's own voice sounded distant to her ears, oddly calm. "The Professor thinks so—he says it's enough to one side to have missed most of her vital organs….." She ran her fingers through her mother's hair again, wondering why she herself felt so cold. It was her mother that had gotten hurt, her mother and Sonoko and Shinichi, not her; why should she feel cold?
She wished Shinichi could hold her right now; she was shaking.
Rin could see him, lying there on the floor through the storage room's doorway; Hei-san was with him. *Good—he won't let anything else happen to him--* It was all a little too much; her mother, wounded and bleeding… Sonoko bleeding and trying to be brave… Shinichi, no, Conan lying on the floor so pale and weak… Ayumi-kun—
*Ayumi----*
"Rin-kun?" The scared voice belonged to Mitsuhiko, who was hovering behind the Professor with Genta looming over his shoulder. Both boys were white-faced and frightened; "You're… crying. Conan-kun—he's gonna be all right, isn't he?" ventured Mitsuhiko, his freckles standing out like ink-spots on his pale cheeks. "Isn't he?"
She nodded, wiping at her eyes with the back of one hand (she hadn't even realized that she had been crying until that moment). "We have to get him to a hospital, and my—my obasan, too—she's been shot. Sonoko-kun as well." Distantly she marveled at how calm she sounded to herself just then.
The two boys sagged in relief, then looked at each other in determination. "Okay, then—let's go!"
Rin's world wobbled a little as she tried to stand up. "Uhhh? Go? Go where??"
Genta tugged her to her feet; his round face looked remarkably serious. "To catch the bad guy, of course," he stated as if it should have been obvious. "He's got Ayumi-kun, so we gotta go get her back." Mitsuhiko grabbed her by the other arm, towing her towards the hallway with a grim look on his young face.
*I can't leave my mom or Shinichi! And these're just—just KIDS, no matter how smart they are—what do they think they're doing?!?* She sputtered, trying to find words that her shell-shocked mind refused to come up with. Nothing—she was temporarily as mute as Conan, who had apparently heard them and was now trying weakly and frantically to speak.
Oddly enough, it was Professor Agasa that saved the situation. "Wait, wait—Mitsuhiko-kun? Genta-kun? I need you to do something else instead, something very important---" The boys paused in their efforts to drag Rin down the hall; the smaller boy cocked his head curiously to one side. "What?"
The grey-hair scientist grunted as he helped to ease Eri-san back against the hallway wall as Sonoko hovered over her worriedly; the wounded woman hissed in pain and Rin jerked as if she had been shot. Kisaki Eri closed her eyes briefly, but opened them to meet her daughter's half-frantic gaze. "It's all right, Ra—Rin-chan; I'm okay. Please….. do what the Professor tells you to." She attempted a smile; it came out more as a grimace, but Rin relaxed a trifle in her friends' grasps.
Agasa cleared his throat, glancing sideways at STORAGE-3B's doorway; Hei-san and Mouri were conferring in low voices while Conan lay still with his eyes fixed on the kids. The boy's face was very white, but he looked slightly better than he had when he'd been first brought out of his prison. *Too many distractions,* thought the Professor as he tried to wrench his mind back to the three small figures that were currently staring up at him; *must keep my mind on track. Poor Ran-chan's so pale…..*
"Genta-kun, do you remember how you carried Conan-kun on your back when he got shot in that cave?" The large boy nodded, eyes brightening. "Do you think you could do that again? We need to get these three to a safe place where the ambulance can pick them up—I can carry Eri-san and Sonoko can walk, but someone needs to carry Conan. Well?" He raised his bushy eyebrows.
"But—but Ayumi-kun-----!!" The two boys looked at each other, their faces distressed. Between them Rin closed her eyes, fighting down a sudden surge of nausea at the thought of her young friend in the hands of that—that—
She couldn't think of something horrible enough to call him.
The Professor shook his head sternly. "Let Mouri-san deal with that— and it looks like Hei-san'll be helping too." At that Conan tried to sit upright, a slightly horrified look in his unfocused eyes; the faintest of grins seemed to flicker across the Janitor's face, but he nodded firmly.
Mouri-san just grunted, still kneeling beside his wife. "Will you be okay, Eri? I want to stay here—but—" He looked disgusted and angry, a vein throbbing visibly in his forehead. "Bastard's got a hostage—can't let him get away with that or she'll end up like that kid—" At Agasa's warning "Harrumph!" he stopped, shaking his head.
Kisaki Eri tried to smile again, pain tightening her eyes as she gripped her husband's hand with her stained fingers. "Go get her away from him," she murmured, her voice thin; "Go get her and nail him for me. I'll be all right." She huddled a little tighter over herself, muttering "…glad he used a small caliber gun….." Sonoko checked her bandage anxiously, her white face strained. "The bleeding looks like it's stopped," she reported, clasping her wounded arm with her good hand. The young woman had a smear of blood across her nose, either Eri's or her own, and her eyes were huge.
Mouri knelt beside his wife, stock-still for a long moment; from the terrible expression on his face he was reliving old memories. Rin—no, Ran whispered "Mom….." The two boys stared at her in confusion, and Genta said tentatively "Um, Rin-kun? Are you— okay?"
"She *will* be, once we get moving." The quiet voice made everyone jump slightly; they had forgotten Haibara Ai, who stood a little ways off down the hall. Her dark blonde head was tilted to one side as she listened, absentmindedly scraping at Sonoko's blood where it stained her hands from her bandaging. After a moment she glanced back at Mouri Kogoro. "Ojiwa's in the lunchroom, I think; the doors going in squeak rather loudly, and I believe I just heard them." She dusted her hands together unconsciously. "If you wish to find him, I'd go quickly before he leaves the grounds. And as for the rest of us….. the Professor is right; we can't do much more here, and these three do need an ambulance." She indicated Eri, Sonoko and Conan with an inclination of her chin, arms crossed. Sonoko opened her mouth to protest that she felt fine, but shut it quickly at a flashing glance from the small scientist.
Rin struggled with her emotions for a moment, torn between wanting to stay with her mother and Shinichi and the desire to help her friend; then all the tension seemed to go out of her small frame. The girl's thin shoulders slumped and she gave a sigh. "I'm… fine, Genta-kun. Let's go….. Ummm, O-Ojisan?" Her father blinked and turned away from where he had been staring down at Eri. "Hrmph?" With unexpected gentleness he helped to lift his wife into Agasa's arms; she gritted her teeth against the pain of movement, but managed not to cry out. "What?" he said, staring down distractedly at the places where Eri's blood had stained his clothes.
"Please be careful."
Mouri Kogoro paused—then nodded, dark eyes narrowing. "Hei-san, ready? Let's g—huh? Now where the hell did that idiot go?!?" The distant sound of a door closing a little ways down the hall was his only answer; Hei-san had slipped past them all in the blink of an eye and disappeared, presumably hot on Ojiwa's trail. For a second or two the detective looked as if her were going to blow his top; then his brows lowered and he nodded shortly. "Guy's got the right idea—I'm not doing any good sitting around here on my thumbs. Agasa-san, take good care of everybody, okay?"
He stooped to pick up something from the floor; Eri's handbag swung incongruously from his large hands as he fished inside it, sliding the small handgun and extra clip out. At Ran's gasp of surprise he merely glanced up, shrugging. Eri's eyes widened a little, but her husband merely grunted in dark amusement and raised one black eyebrow.
"You didn't actually think I didn't know you had this, did you? Idiot; I may be lazy sometimes, but I'm not stupid—and you're predictable." Leaning forward, he kissed his wife very briefly on the temple; then Mouri Kogoro walked away quietly and quickly towards the lunchroom.
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*Scared—I'm scared—I'm so scared--* Ayumi whimpered a little despite herself, despite all her intentions to be brave; the Bad Man's grip was tight, and it hurt her arm as he pulled her down the hall.
"Quiet." He wasn't paying much attention to her other than keeping a good hold; maybe she could get away?
But—no. One look at that scary face told the little girl that trying to get away would be a very, very bad thing to do. Even the monsters in the late-night movies that she had snuck out of bed to watch didn't look as frightening as his face, all twisted up and red with anger. Since she had begun helping to solve mysteries with the Detective Boys, Ayumi had seen many frightening things—dead bodies, real criminals, stuff that her young mind sometimes flinched away from…..
But the Bad Man who was dragging her down the hallway was worse, somehow; he had hurt her best friend Conan, he had hurt (and possibly killed, although it was hard to think about a kid her age getting murdered even though she knew it could happen) Toshiro-kun, and he was doing things with drugs. Everybody knew that drugs were very bad things—they talked about it in school.
Ojiwa-sensei was a teacher. Teachers were, in her limited experience, good. How could a teacher do such bad things??
She whimpered again as the grip on her arm tightened and she stumbled a little. They were moving faster now, almost running. What if they were going too fast for her to be rescued? She was going to be rescued, wasn't she? Wasn't she?
The Bad Man turned his head and snarled at her in irritation. "Pick up your feet, brat!" The gun in his hand glinted evilly in the dim lighting of the deserted hallways, and Ayumi remembered how loud it had sounded a few minutes before. If she didn't do what he said he would shoot her too, just like he had shot Rin-kun's Obasan…..
*I don't want to get shot. I don't want to get hurt or killed. I want to get AWAY!!!*
Tears began to slide down her cheeks as Ayumi struggled to keep up, literally running for her life.
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Across the school's rooftops a shadow flitted, scarcely there at all; despite the sunlight of afternoon a watcher would have been hard put to trace the shadow's progress, it moved so quickly. A recessed door leading into one of the school's many attics opened and shut, and all was quiet once again.
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***Creeeeeeak***…….
Mouri Kogoro glanced at the ceiling above him; the noise had been very faint, but it had made him jump like a gunshot. *Gunshot. Huh; not a good thing to think about right now. Eri….. Didn't want to leave Eri, but there was nothing I could do around her except lose my mind. And that little Ayumi girl needs my help more; Eri said to go herself. So why do I feel like such a louse?* He cursed mentally, grinding his teeth.
*Damn, that kid—Kudo, I mean—he looked almost like a corpse himself, coming out of that box all bloody-headed and scraped up. Ojiwa has a lot to answer for….. not that I care about what happens to Kudo—I just want Ran to be happy, so the boy has to stay alive. Right.*
Another creaking sound overhead made him look up once more; old buildings, they were always making odd noises. These sounded almost like footsteps, light and fast….. Pigeons, probably.
As Mouri edged around a hallway corner, he sniffed the air and his brows drew down blackly. Gunpowder. Someone had fired a gun in the vicinity very, very recently. And there was another scent underneath the heavy carbon-stink, a thick wet scent that he thought he recognized…..
Nodomo-san's office door stood open--- Cautiously the detective slid along the wall and peered through the doorway.
One look was enough.
Nodomo-san….. Ojiwa had already been here to tidy up loose ends. Mouri swallowed, a trickle of sweat running down the length of his throat to seep into his collar. *Bastard. Bloody bastard. Hope this happened before he got hold of the girl.*
Yeah, the girl. What was he going to do when he found Ojiwa, anyway? He couldn't let the murderer know he was being stalked—you didn't risk a hostage like that. It'd all depend on whether or not he got a chance for a good, clean shot. Pity he was going to have to shoot the man right in front of little Ayumi, but there was no other way.
First things first; he had to find the bastard. Mouri-san gripped his wife's gun a little tighter and crept further down the hallway, moving as silently as possible. Above him the faint sounds paused, then continued on.
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Ojiwa Ryu laughed to himself through the edged, whirling clarity that had become his world. Everything was so simple now, oh yes; he knew what was going on. He was sharp as a knife—they couldn't pull anything over on HIM, never. He'd take care of them all.
The little brat he was dragging through the hallways, she was his ticket out of trouble; he had a couple of boxes full of beautiful little bags of white powder out in the car, the stuff that made everything so clear for him… Not that crap that the flunkies were selling, cut twice over with chemicals from the school lab supplies or poison from the supermarket. No, this was the pure stuff, the real stuff. He could get away and sell it somewhere else to somebody who'd take the fall if they got caught (not him, not him, never him. He was invincible).
("………ojiwa…………")
It was all so clear. He could almost hear the stuff whispering to him in a soft, sweet voice; could feel the rush in his veins all over again, burning….. burning…..
Everything burned away under the drug's kiss, everything—and he was going to win this little battle. Nobody could stop him. He'd kill them ALL.
("………hey, ojiwa…………")
Ojiwa Ryu laughed again and lengthened his stride as they exited through the lunchroom's far door, his grip tightening on his hostage's thin wrist; the child whimpered and tried to keep up. His heart thundered in his ears, beating like fists on flesh—thud-thud, thud-thud, thud-THUD, THUD-THUD---
("………Ojiwa……over here, sensei……")
What was THAT??? He jerked to a stop so suddenly that the girl slid in her stockinged feet and almost fell. Where---??
Nothing. Just the echoes inside his head. Nothing. The science teacher wiped sweat from his forehead with the hand holding the gun, eyes darting around the dim corridor. With an inarticulate grunt he continued on down the hall, dragging the child behind him.
Overhead the softest of footsteps whispered, following.
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"Conan-kun, are you getting fatter? 'Cause you feel a lot heavier than you did before….." grunted Genta, shifting his burden around a little on his back.
His burden did not reply—all his attention was turned on trying to keep his head from flying apart into a thousand pieces. *God, Genta, can't you move a little more smoothly? I can feel every crack in the tiles—this is like riding a car with bad shocks.* Conan bit back a pained gasp as his friend stopped a little too fast at a wave from Mitsuhiko, who was ranging ahead like a two-legged hunting dog. The freckled boy peered carefully around a corner, then waved his companions on; their charge bit his lip as movement from the body carrying his started a distinct, rhythmic throbbing in the depths of his skull. *Aaaaghh…..* Spots danced in front of his eyes.
A hand brushed along his forehead, drawing his hair back from where it had tangled over his face; blinking, he felt more than saw that Rin was right beside them, her worried dark gaze fixed on his own. As he leaned his head against the back of Genta's, Conan tried to smile for her through the headache, the vast relief that had been tightening his chest ever since his release warming him all through. *Ran… Rin… I was so afraid I'd never see you again…..* His lips shaped the words he was currently unable to say, and she smiled at him through her worry.
She was so beautiful. So beautiful. Even with those damned spots dancing between them….. *Got to get my voice back, Ran, so I can tell you. So many things I want to tell you. Like… like how much you still look like yourself right at this moment, no matter how small you are now; like how much I'm looking forward to watching you grow up all over again. Like how strong and capable you are—and how glad I am that you found me.* Something of what he was feeling must have shown in his eyes in that moment—Rin blushed like a rose as she watched him.
Beside them both, Ai smiled to herself; and if the smile had a certain wistfulness and regret to it, only she knew.
A gasp from ahead made his head jerk upright with rather painful results; Mitsuhiko and Rin had been playing lookouts for the small party, with the boy taking point and Rin the rear. Now Mitsuhiko-kun had stopped dead still in the hall, a perplexed look on his freckled face. "Ummmmm….. ?"
"What's wrong?" Professor Agasa panted slightly as he leaned against the wall, Eri cradled carefully against him (he was finding it tough going, considering his bulk). The graying scientist peered towards his small charge anxiously. "Do you see anything?"
"N-no……." The boy's voice was tremulous, unsure; Rin moved up to stand beside the thin boy, frowning. "Mitsuhiko-kun?" The gradeschooler's brows were drawn down in a ferocious scowl of concentration. "I—I heard something, I think—like somebody shouting, maybe? I'm not sure….." He shivered. Grey shadows stretched off to either side of the intersection; halls usually familiar and filled with children were made dim and frightening by tension, and Rin hesitated as she looked left and right. "Which way should we go?"
The young boy beside her bit his lip. "If we go that way, we'll come out on the playground….. but if we go that way we can get to the front of the school quicker. It's just….. I think those noises came from there."
Rin looked back towards Conan, who shifted uneasily on Genta's back; his face was white with pain and weariness, but the unfocused blue eyes were narrowed as he tried to think. She could feel her heart pounding as she considered what to do….. *I want to go after Ayumi-chan, but we need to get Mom and the others to an ambulance—if only one of the offices were unlocked, we could call for one! But they're not, so… I guess we should stay away from the main entrance and skirt around through the playground; that ought to be safest.* Stepping back a little, she motioned to the others to follow.
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Ojiwa Ryu was NOT a happy man right at that moment.
Distractions, distractions, distractions….. He plowed down the hallway through the unlit dimness, still dragging his small hostage behind him; she was keeping quiet for the most part, her occasional whimpers and gasps of pain kept to a minimum.
Good; if the little brat made too much noise, he'd shut her up permanently. He could always get another. Ojiwa laughed to himself—or was it out loud? He couldn't tell and didn't care—the bright fuse that the drug had set burning in his brain left no room for minor considerations like that.
*Little bastards are a yen a dozen, too many of 'em all over the place anyway, doing the world a favor wasn't I? Should go after them, clean things up a bit, make them pay for making me work so hard yeah I work too hard, Little bastards, always making me look over my shoulder*
(A noise made him jump; something overhead—there had been so *many* little noises, voices whispering at him in the hallways--- Nodomo's voice (no, no, he was dead) and that little brat he'd locked in the cabinet—he'd gotten a quick glimpse of the boy earlier, so he knew he was alive…)
*pity the little bastard didn't die, well I can fix that and I will, too--- can't leave loose ends, gotta fix this, do it RIGHT*
(More noises: …….."ojiwa"………… He stopped, throwing his head back to let out a snarl that was nearly a howl; the little girl in his sweating grasp cringed away, tears streaming down her face.
"WHERE ARE YOU?!?" But only the echoes replied. He snarled again in frustration and slammed his way on down the hall.)
*Fix them all, kill them all when I find them especially those little brats this is all their fault, wouldn't have to leave if they didn't get in the way screw things up little bastards little bastards LITTLE BASTARDS KILL THEM ALL-----*
………"Ojiwa-sensei---"……….
He turned, pointing the gun behind him, and saw---
---oh, he saw---
*noNoNOyou'redeadyou'redeadyou'redeadIkilledyouIkilledyouIkilledyoumyselfYoucan'thurtme---whereareyou???*
The hall was empty again.
Ojiwa Ryu screamed a long, chilling scream and tore on down the hallway with his hostage in hand, looking for something he could kill.
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As Rin moved quietly through the dimly-lit corridors, a thought occurred to her; just how had she ended up in front? Behind her the rest of the small group continued on as silently as possible, their footsteps near-soundless on the worn tiles. *Just a little further—once we're out of the building we can follow the fence around to the parking lot, and then we can cross the street and use a phone in one of the shops or even maybe flag a driver with a cell-phone down--*
***** click-click *****
The girl's footsteps faltered to a halt; there had been a noise. What---?
….. and suddenly her mother, who had been keeping as still as possible in the Professor's sweating grasp, jerked upright: "NO!!! GET DOWN!!!"
*BOOM! BOOM-BOOM!!!*
Gunshots. Rin yelped, throwing herself against Mitsuhiko and knocking him to one side. Sharp, staccato somethings impacted the wall, scattering plaster shards everywhere; behind her, the girl heard Agasa-san's startled grunt and Sonoko's little yip of terror as they backpedaled down the hallway. A shout of "Run, Ran! Just go!" made her grab at Mitsuhiko's arm, yanking him along with her—she had already been passed by Genta, who was doing a respectable sprint with Conan bouncing painfully on his back.
Even as she ran, heart banging against her ribs in fear, Rin turned her head to get a shaky glimpse of the Professor, Sonoko, Ai-chan and her mother heading back the way they had come. *God please don't let Ojiwa go after my mom again, please don't let him shoot her again, please don't let him---* Her incoherent thoughts thudded in time with her footsteps---
*BOOM! BI-DOWWW!!!* A badly-aimed shot ricocheted off an overhead beam as the small party fled around a corner in a skidding curve; her breath half-sobbing in her throat, Rin's mind flashed thankfully on the fact that the murderer seemed to be pursuing them, not her mother and the others.
Not that this was a good thing, necessarily—but at least they could still run.
Thud-slap-thud-thud-thud-slip-skid-thud-thud-thud---
*run*run*run*run*run*
Mad laughter sounded behind them, accompanied by heavy footfalls and a smaller, half-pattering-half-sliding sound—Ayumi, no doubt, being dragged along by one wrist. "That's right, you little brats—keep running! You'll just die tired!" The shout echoed through the corridors. Beside Rin Genta let out a strangled cry as he stumbled and nearly went down, only catching his balance at the last moment; Conan clung grimly onto his back, legs locked tightly around the larger boy's ample waist.
Thud-thud-thud-stumble-slip-thud-thud-thud-thud--- Mitsuhiko was racing ahead of them like a hare, the thin boy could move when he wanted to— where was the exit to the playground?!? As they ran, Ojiwa was coming up behind them again, not even bothering to shoot now---
*run*run*run*run*run*
Mitsuhiko smacked hard into the right-hand door at the end of the hall, slamming it open and holding it in place as his friends shot through, then racing after them as if on wheels while the door shut behind him with a loud clack. The sudden glare of afternoon sunlight made them all squint and slow down, half-blinded after the dimness of the school; his face filled with terror, Genta looked wildly around. "Where'll we go? Where'll we go?? Conan-kun, what'll we do??" he asked, forgetting that his burden could not currently speak.
But he could point; a wavering arm caught Rin's shoulder, turning her to look towards…..
Rin grabbed both his and Mitsuhiko's arms, pulling them both along towards the only haven she could see at the moment. "THERE! We can hide inside---" She towed them in the direction of the small brick structure that stood less than twenty meters away. *God, don't let the doors be locked—oh, that's right, they don't lock, guess the teachers are afraid the kids'll shut themselves inside---*
As they scurried across the playground, they heard the door slam open again, crashing against the outer wall. Laughter bounced shrilly around the hallway and emerged mad and distorted through the open door…
…accompanied by a small whimpering: Ayumi-chan, still trying to be brave.
Almost the kids paused at that, almost—but Rin jerked at her friends' wrists, dragging them as quickly as possible behind her into the haven that beckoned before her. At the doorway, however, both boys shot her appalled looks of dismay; it took the sound of the rapid steps crossing the ground behind them to make them dart inside and brace the door with a heavy trash-can. Fortunately it was sound enough (and, more importantly, tall enough) to wedge under the doorknob so that the entrance was thoroughly blocked even for an adult's strength. That wouldn't matter much to bullets, though---
Panting winded, Mitsuhiko leaned over, hands flat against his thighs. "Rin-kun… did we… have to hide… in the Girl's Room?" he asked plaintively. Beside him Genta-kun gasped for breath, too winded to add his own obvious dismay; on his back, Conan almost smiled.
*Any… port in a… storm, Mitsuhiko-kun…* He was finding it hard to keep on track—the pounding in his head was worse than ever. *Must be all the… jostling around… Not that… I'm not grateful, guys…..* Mitsuhiko's expression was a good distraction from the dizziness and throbbing—the kid kept squinting nervously around the dreaded Girl's Bathroom as if afraid to see something he shouldn't see.
But Rin wasn't paying attention at that moment; she was, instead, listening to the sound of steps coming up to the door. Grabbing her friends' hands again, she pulled them back to the farthest corner of the small room where they huddled together, waiting.
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Gunfire! Mouri Kogoro cursed out loud, spinning wildly in the intersection of two hallways as he tried to make out where the echoing sounds had come from. That way--- He pelted in the direction of the shots, all thoughts of caution thrown to the wind.
*Not gonna let you get away with shooting MY WIFE, you bloody bastard---*
Somewhere not too far ahead a door opened with a crash; insane laughter echoed against tiled halls.
Clutching his gun, Mouri ran faster.
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*WHAMMMM!!! WHAMMM-BAMM!!! BWHAM-BWHAMMMM-WHAM!!!*
The small room vibrated with the sounds of Ojiwa's attempts to shoulder-in the door. He snarled a broken stream of obscenities as he slammed his body again and again against the metal bathroom door, making the children crouching inside flatten themselves against the wall as far away as possible.
Slumped on the floor, Conan struggled to push himself upright. *Goddammit, Ojiwa—why the hell are you chasing us still? You could leave Ayumi behind and make it over the fence—why are you still after us? There's gotta be a reason-----*
Above his head he heard Ran—Rin—take a deep breath as she pulled something out of her pocket. "I've still got the disk—the one Nodomo-san gave me" she whispered; "If—if I gave it to him, do you think he'd go away? It's not worth your lives---"
*WHAMM-WHAMM-WHAMMM!!! BWHAM!* The continued pounding made her flinch, and beside her Genta shivered and pressed himself a little further back into his corner.
*Disk? Nodomo-san?* The boy tilted his head painfully back, trying to make out what she held. It was hard; his vision kept blurring. A computer disk….. *Nodomo must've loaded something incriminating on there—but I wonder if Ojiwa even knows Rin has it? I doubt it'd matter much to him, the way he is right now.* Conan reached up, tugging at her jacket; at her inquiring look he shook his head a little, pointing towards the door with one hand and making a small spinning motion towards his head with the other.
She took his meaning instantly: Ojiwa was insane, far too crazed at this point to care about disks or incriminating information or anything else other than eliminating the target that he had become fixated on:
Them.
*BWHAMM!! BAM-BAM-BWHAMMMMM!!!* The trashcan was beginning to bend…..
***************************************************************************
"……..Ojiwa….. hey, Ojiwa-sensei……."
"Over HERE, Ojiwa…………… no, over HERE…………"
The man screamed in frustration, wheeling away from the bathroom door to stare wildly about the playground; where the hell were those voices coming from?!? Sometimes they were Nodomo's, sometimes they were that little brat-boy's, sometimes he didn't know them--- but he could hear them from EVERYWHERE---
They were driving him insane. He had to stop them, just like he had to stop the little devils, the little bastards he had trapped just on the other side of the door---
Ojiwa Ryu drew back to slam his shoulder again against the barrier; he could feel whatever was blocking it beginning to shift, beginning to slide, beginning to fail…
*and then you're all MINE you little bastards I'll take care of you and then the girl Then I'll get away scott-free But first I'll--*
"…..Ojiwa….. over HERE……."
He swung around, just in time to see something move at the corner of his vision; before he was even thinking about it he was firing—
*BOOM!! BOOMBOOMBOOM!!! BOOMBOOM!!!* --at something that shot behind the small brick building so fast that he wasn't sure he had really seen it at first---
*But of course I did, they're all after me everybody is of course they are I'll kill them all I'll KILL THEM ALL*
His hand was shaking as it held the gun—why was it shaking? Why was he so hot? Must be the drug—he needed more of the drug, his sweet white powder— And after this was all over he'd take care of that. Business first, then pleasure….. No, killing those little bastards would be a distinct pleasure. The thought made him giggle.
More bullets; he would need more ammunition to kill the little devils when he got the door open. One little devil, two little devils, three little devils, four--- that was okay, he had a lot of clips in his pockets and even a surprise or two, he had come prepared. The science teacher fumbled with his gun, ejecting the used clip onto the ground and sliding a new one into place—
***************************************************************************
He had dropped her wrist; the Bad Man had let go of her. For one long second Ayumi froze.
He was doing something with his gun, and he wasn't paying attention to her anymore; maybe she could---
But the Bad Man had raised his head again; his bloodshot eyes met hers, and for a ridiculous moment his face went blank, seeming almost startled that he had actually let her go. He reached out—he was moving so slowly…..
(but suddenly, suddenly Ayumi was remembering how Conan-kun had looked coming out of the storage room, how white and frail her friend had seemed. She was remembering how she had felt when Ai had told her that Conan had probably been locked away by Ojiwa-sensei; and she was remembering how Rin-kun's face had looked when she had seen her obasan lying bleeding and in pain on the hallway floor. It was all Ojiwa-san's fault, all of it, and he had hurt Conan-kun so BADLY that he couldn't even TALK)
(and suddenly, suddenly Ayumi was thinking about how much she had been afraid, how much Ojiwa-sensei's tight grasp on her wrist had HURT as she was dragged through the schools, stumbling and falling down and being shouted at and jerked along like a toy that wasn't working right, or a bad dog on a leash)
and suddenly, suddenly Yoshida Ayumi was ANGRY.
And as he grabbed her sleeve so he could DRAG HER AWAY AGAIN, she twisted violently out of his reach---
---and she kicked him in the shins as hard as she could.
"AAAGH!!!"
The Bad Man howled, dropping forward for a moment to grab at his legs, and Ayumi stumbled backwards, almost falling; *He'll get me again—I want to get away--- PleaseOhPlease don't grab me again! Pleasedon't---*
---but then (so fast!) she felt hands come from behind her, catching her waist and yanking her backwards and around the corner of the building as a sudden shower of playground sand was kicked up and past her into the Bad Man's face; he snarled out some bad words and jerked back and away as she was whisked off the ground and---
*Somebody's GOT me—it's not the Bad Man—somebody's SAVED me!!!---*
Before she knew it a door was opening and Ayumi found herself being gently pushed into the cool darkness of a small room by strong, grownup's hands. "You stay here, okay Ayumi-chan? Don't go anywhere, no matter what…" said the soft, half-breathless voice of her rescuer as the door closed. Ayumi gulped a deep breath, too stunned by the suddenness of her rescue to even think of a reply. The door clicked shut almost silently, and she was suddenly alone.
Alone and free; not with the Bad Man anymore. She was SAFE. It was almost too much for her seven-year-old nerves to take; she kept taking deep, shuddering breaths until her head rang with dizziness. The litany of a single word sang through Ayumi's mind over and over: Safe, safe, safe, safe, safe-----
But…… who had saved her? She hadn't seen his face, but he had almost sounded like….. somebody she had met once before a few months ago, on the balcony outside her room. Somebody she would never forget. Dazed, Ayumi pushed her tangled hair back from her face, remembering the lightest touch of lips to the back of her hand, the soft voice murmuring Goodnight, little miss just before he flew away like a white dove into the darkness…..
But never mind. She was SAFE. As gunfire began again outside Ayumi slowly slid down to sit on the tiles, tears of thanksgiving and terror running down her cheeks in the cool darkness of the playground Boy's Room.
***************************************************************************
Hei-san smiled in fierce satisfaction as he ghosted soundlessly along the furthest wall of the small brick building. Well, that was taken care of….. time for the Grand Finale. He could damn well use something to distract Ojiwa, though, something to draw his attention—where the HELL was Mouri-tantei, anyway? Detectives and cops, they were like buses—never there when you wanted 'em, and then three or four would come along all at once…
He wouldn't mind a few right now, what with all the gunshots pinging off the brickwork just around the corner. It was enough to make a person appreciate his regular line of work; at least the people who usually shot at him were the Good Guys, not berserker whacko drug-dealers with chips on their shoulders. Maybe waiting for Mouri would be a good idea? His head was thick enough to make a good shield--
Slipping a handful of steel ball-bearings from his sleeve (that little foray he had made into the maintenance supplies had sure been a good idea), he shook his head and smiled a bit wryly to himself. *Uh huh. Like I'm gonna wait for a detective to show up? Suuuure….. and pigs with monocles are circling Tokyo International Airport on little white hang-gliders right now, too…..*
The Janitor slid a little further down the wall, looking for a good angle of attack; it was going to take more than skill to finish out this performance—it was going to take a little luck as well. *And maybe I'd better do a few more 'voices' to keep the Whacko off balance, too; let's see—what've I got up my sleeve?*
***************************************************************************
*Easy now…..* Mouri Kogoro edged carefully around a tree behind the Jungle Gym, eyes fixed on his goal—the small brick building at the edge of the playground. Ojiwa-san had really lost it, really gone around the bend—the man was slamming his shoulder against the bathroom door over and over again, jerking that poor little Ayumi kid along with him with every move. The little girl was holding up pretty well from what he could see—but the science teacher—
*Complete nutcase. Dangerous nutcase. Never mind that, though….. c'mon, Kogoro—just like when you were a rookie cop, just like in training—nice and slow. If he doesn't know you're there, he probably won't shoot you. Probably.* He checked his gun; full clip in place, ready to go—it'd been a long time since he had carried a gun; bad memories niggled at the edges of his thoughts, dark and edged with regret.
Never mind the memories; thinking too much could get you killed. He'd always believed that.
*Okay….. let's get to the next tree, the one over by the slides. Quit worrying about it and just DO it, dammit!* And Mouri was away, moving with a quickness and quietness that would have surprised his wife and daughter immensely, not to mention a certain smartass young resident detective. Flattening himself against the bark, he jerked slightly at the sudden sound of sirens…..
*What--?? Oh yeah, right—great, that's the ambulance for Eri and Kudo and the Suzuki girl. Cops too. But—ah, SHIT!! Ojiwa'll panic, and he's got that Ayumi kid with him--- shit, shit, SHIT!!! Better do something quick, or--*
He dropped low, cursing silently as his back twinged on him (*you're not getting any younger, you know that Kogoro?*); shooting across the playground at a fast clip, he skidded to a halt in a flurry of sand behind a bench and crouched there, peering between the wooden slats---
*---what the HELL?!?---*
---just in time to see Hei-san sweep Ayumi up in one arm and dart behind and around the building as fast as a lizard. Ojiwa looked to be loading a clip; he just stood there, mouth open, an utterly *outraged* expression on his face-----
And then he screamed bloody murder and started firing away wildly in the direction that the Janitor had gone (not that that was going to do him any good). From his bench vantage point, Mouri watched as Hei-san scooted around towards Ojiwa's back and along the same side, thrusting the girl into the other bathroom. The man moved unbelievably fast---
*-----never seen ANYBODY move like that-----*
---and every movement was precise, perfect as a performance. Once the girl was inside he whisked himself around a corner and out of sight so rapidly he was barely more than a blur; and then he was just—gone. Gone.
For one long moment the detective could do nothing but goggle at what he had just seen; then the reality of the change in circumstances hit home, and he grinned a shark-toothed grin full of teeth and bristling moustache. *Where's your hostage NOW, Ojiwa-san?? Huh?? Who's got the upper hand NOW???* In his excitement Mouri's head shot up just a little too high above the bench and---
*BI-DOWWW!!! BOOM-BOOM!!!*
*@#$#!!! The bastard's shooting at me again!!!* He yelped audibly as an impact sent a shower of splinters all over him. *@#$#@#!!!* He was in deep shit *now*, no doubt about it—Ojiwa had found himself a shiny new target. From where Mouri crouched he could see his beet-red, sweating face as the madman drew down on him and sighted, grinning like a skull while his finger tightened on the trigger---
***THWACK!!! THWACK-THWACK-THWACK!!!*** Now what?!? More shooting—
Something silver and spherical rolled across the sidewalk in front of the reeling Ojiwa—somebody was throwing something at him with deadly accuracy (marbles? Who the hell would be throwing marbles at a murderer??) Mouri gaped, looking up just in time to catch sight of Hei-san dodging back around his corner as another ***THWACK!!!*** resounded across the playground. This time Ojiwa ducked, cursing shrilly as he brought his gun around towards his tormenter to fire off another volley.
*Sooner or later,* thought Mouri grimly, *he's going to run out of bullets. And when he does, he's MINE.*
As if a friendly Kami had been listening, a sudden dull click-click resounded across the playground; the madman with the gun hesitated, looking rather surprised—
Mouri half rose in triumph, ready to charge—
Around the corner came Hei-san, long arms outstretched and reaching—
--and Ojiwa reached into his left-hand coat pocket with a triumphant howl, yanking the OTHER loaded gun out and bringing it around to fire at Hei-san—
Who was, somehow, suddenly not there…..
*@#$#@!!!* thought Mouri Kogoro, diving for cover.
***************************************************************************
*Huh, will you look at that?* Hei-san cursed softly to himself as he stared at the blood dripping from his fingers. *The whacko actually winged me. Several hundred cops and detectives can't hit me no matter HOW close I am, but a drug-crazed maniac manages it first time off the bat. He must have something against janitors.* It wasn't bad, just a deep score running the length of his outer forearm, but it would slow him down a bit. Twisting his sleeve tightly around his arm helped to stop the bleeding; grimacing against the pain, he snuck another look around the corner.
BI-DOWWW!!! The bullet ricocheted off the brickwork, leaving a sizeable gouge. Hei-san cursed again and readied another ball-bearing. *Good thing I'm ambidextrous…*
As he cocked his left arm back, he frowned for a moment; he could swear that he heard voices coming out of the Little Boy's Room where he had left Ayumi-chan….. But she had been all alone, hadn't she?
***************************************************************************
*I want to go home…* whimpered the small girl. She wished she was brave, as brave as Conan-kun had been when he had been trapped in a small place—but she was SCARED and she wanted her MOM and she wanted to GO HOME RIGHT NOW…..
Ayumi sniffled, wiping the tears back from her face with the back of a smeared hand. There was so much noise coming from outside, all sorts of bangs and booms and cracking noises-- She had heard gunfire a few times since she had become a detective; she knew that it didn't really sound like it did on TV. Instead it was either a lot *louder* than you thought it should be, or a lot *duller*-- it wasn't always sharp and hard. Sometimes it sounded like somebody hitting a futon with a really big stick, and sometimes it sounded like thunder.
THIS sounded like the end of the world. She trembled, pressing her small hands against her ears. *I WANT TO GO HOME!!!*
"Hey! Hey--- you're Ayumi-kun, right?"
Shocked, she twisted around so fast that she staggered from her kneeling position and fell over with a cry. "!!!"
There was a boy in here with her, sitting right beside her; Ayumi could hardly see him in the dimness, but she thought she recognized his voice. "T-Toshiro-kun???"
He smiled at her, all thin freckled face and askew dark hair; the missing gradeschooler seemed awfully happy to see her. "Uh-huh. Did I get your name right? I've seen you playing with Mitsuhiko-kun before and those other guys, the detective kids. Are you okay? I heard you crying….." He seemed a little taken aback then, hesitating for a moment, staring. "Um, Ayumi-kun—you're in the Boy's Room, you know? I don't think you're supposed to be here-----"
Ayumi rubbed at her eyes again and hiccupped, trying to stop her tears. "I want to go HOME--- I'm, I'm scared and I don't WANT to be here---" More tears ran down her face, replacing the ones she had wiped away. She noticed vaguely that the gunfire outside had stopped for the moment, but it would start up again—she knew it would.
The boy regarded her solemnly in the dim light; the narrow window in the tiny bathroom was so high up that little of the late afternoon sun's rays filtered in. "I know how that feels; I wanted out too….. You guys helped me, so I'll help you now." He took a deep breath, the tremulous note in his voice betraying his anxiety. "Ojiwa-sensei—he's a very, very bad man, and he's done some really awful stuff. Bad people ought to feel sorry when they do bad stuff….. and he's not; he's not sorry at all."
The little girl nodded, still wiping at her eyes. The boy beside her fished a wadded-up Kleenex out of one pocket and presented it without a word; she took it and used it to scrub her face as clean as possible. When she had finished, Toshiro-kun climbed to his feet and offered a hand; Ayumi pulled herself up and attempted a wavery smile. "I'm awfully glad you're all right; we were really worried about you…"
Her classmate hesitated, biting his lip. "I—well, I'm sort of okay and I'm sort of… not. I think I have to go away after this is over with—I don't think I can stay here anymore."
Dusting off her knees and seat she regarded him with concern. "Are you going to a new school, Toshiro-kun?"
He shrugged, looking a little unsure; "I….. *guess* so….. It's kinda hard to explain. But it's okay, anyway; it's okay now." And he grinned at her, looking a lot more cheerful than he had at first.
Then his thin face slid into a slightly scared, freckled resoluteness and he put his hand on the door-handle. "You stay here—I'm gonna go outside and—"
Ayumi grabbed him by the arm. "You CAN'T go outside!! Ojiwa-sensei's got a gun and there's been a lot of shooting and everything, and you'll get hurt—" It had been quiet for a little while now, but—
Toshiro-kun pushed her gently back from the doorway. "No I won't….. not anymore. Shinichi-niisan said I've been hurt all I CAN be hurt now, and nobody can do anything else to me ever, ever again." He took a deep, shaky breath. "A-and….. that means Ojiwa-sensei too. Never, *ever* again." His smile began to find it's way back onto his face, and he shook his head at her. "So you stay here 'til the others come and get you, okay? You'll be all right."
Confused, Ayumi stared at the shadowed face before her; he sounded so… she didn't really understand how he sounded. Almost happy, even though he was scared; almost scared, even though he was happy. And-- *Shinichi-niisan? How does Toshiro-kun know him? That's Ran-kun's boyfriend!* "O…kay, if you think I should—"
Toshiro-kun nodded, tugging at the door. "Uh huh. Bye, Ayumi-kun—thanks for helping me; tell Mitsuhiko I'm sorry I didn't get his flashlight back to him when I said I would, and—would you tell Suriyo-kun in the back of the class that he can have my Yaiba Special Collection hologram cards? They're in my desk—I want to take them with me but I don't think I can, so he can have 'em, okay?"
She wrinkled her nose, wondering why he wasn't going to tell Suriyo himself. "I—okay, I will, I guess….."
The boy smiled again. "Thanks," he said quietly; then he slipped through the door out into the sunlight and was gone.
Slowly Ayumi stepped back from the entrance, sitting cross-legged back in her place on the tiles. Tense and more than a little confused, she waited for the noise to begin again…..
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*Too quiet—it's way, way the hell too quiet. WHAT is going on out there?*
Conan cradled his head in his hands; the crashing at the door had stopped, and that was helping… but he still felt like his head was going to split in two at the first given opportunity. Add that to the weary stiffness that pervaded every limb and you had a serious dose of misery.
*Still, it could be worse; at least we're in a bathroom, even if it's the Girl's Bathroom. I think I scandalized Genta and Mitsuhiko, though.* He had spent a long time locked up in that cabinet—and it hadn't included facilities. *Funny, the things that make you grateful; never thought that good plumbing'd be one of them.* Conan sighed and leaned his throbbing head back against the cool tiles of the wall.
Warm bodies sat to either side of him, Genta and Mitsuhiko to his left and Rin to his right; God, it was so good to be free of that damned box! But… he still wanted to know what was going on outside…..
Ojiwa Ryu had gone from savage attempts to break the door down to sudden shrieks of fury and rapid gunfire; there had been the sounds of something hard and non-bulletlike impacting on the building—no ideas about that whatsoever—and then there'd been more careful shots, shots with a muttered accompaniment of unintelligible words from Ojiwa accompanying them. It really sounded like the man's brain had melted down.
*Paranoia, delusions, obsession….. whatever he's been taking, it isn't ordinary stuff. It almost sounds like PCP, but-- * Too much thinking made his head hurt; the boy sighed and closed his eyes against the dim light.
Soft, cool fingers stroked his forehead, leaving comfort in their wake; he blinked dizzily up at Rin's face as she knelt by him with a dampened paper-towel. "Are you okay?" she whispered, glancing furtively towards the now-silent door. The boy tried to smile up at her; she was a blur in his damaged vision, but he could make out Rin's face well enough. His lips formed the words that his bruised throat would not allow him to say: I'm okay—don't worry. And she smiled down at him, making a faint face. "'Don't worry'—right….." Beside them Genta nudged Mitsuhiko in the side with an elbow; the two boys grinned at each other a little despite their situation.
They were, after all, still kids. *And right now I'm GLAD they're kids—an adult wouldn't bounce back nearly as well as a kid does. Wonder how Rin and I score that way? Right now I don't feel very Shinichi-ish—I just want this all to be over.*
Too much thinking again; he was really looking forward to a long rest after all this was over….. preferably in a room with a lot of windows and a door with no lock. *Not to mention light, lots of it.* He squinted up longingly at the small window high up on the wall; kind of ironic, wasn't it? Stuck back in a little room with a tiny window all over again, unable to get out-----
Conan felt sweat trickle down the side of his temple at the thought. He'd never been claustrophobic before, neither as Conan nor as Shinichi; but it looked like he was about to start. Somewhere deep inside him a young man shivered slightly at the thought of being confined.
Beside him Genta groaned a little as he clambered to his feet, stretching. "Why's it so quiet??" muttered the large gradeschooler in what he probably considered a whisper; he swiped irritably at his sweaty face, leaving a long smudge across one cheek.
Mitsuhiko staggered slightly as he also rose, dusting the seat of his pants off. "I think my butt's gone to sleep—those tiles are cold. Rin-kun, can you see anything?" His question was directed at the fourth small figure in the room, who was now climbing rather precariously up onto the sink in an effort to see out the window.
Balancing carefully on one foot, she frowned as she peered across the room; the builders had thoughtfully placed the sinks on the wall away from the windows (probably to keep the bathroom's clients from doing just the sort of preadolescent acrobatics that Rin was doing right now). "No….. nothing's moving out there that I can see--- I wish I could actually reach the windows!" She slithered back to the ground with a sigh… and then turned towards Genta, an arrested look on her face. "Hmmmm…. Um, Genta-kun? I don't suppose you could---"
With an exaggerated sigh the tall boy walked over to the windows and bent over, making a stirrup with his hands. He rolled his eyes as Rin hesitated, then gingerly clambered up to stand stocking-footed on his shoulders. "How come I always have to be the one people climb on, huh? How come I always have to carry people when they get hurt and reach for stuff nobody else can get and—"
Mitsuhiko grinned at him, arms folded. "'Cause we all know you can, Genta-kun."
"Oh." His friend looked mollified. "Ow! Watch it, Rin-kun—that's my ear you almost stepped on!"
"Sorry…" she apologized absently, clinging to the windowsill and shading her eyes against the low sun's rays. "Can't see a thi—OH!!!"
*BI-DOWWW!!!*
Arms flailing, Rin fell over backwards with a horrified yelp, knocking Genta over to sprawl against Mitsuhiko, who went over on top of Conan-- For a moment there was nothing but a confusion of tangled limbs and dismayed cries; Conan struggled frantically to reach Rin (*OhmyGod that was a gunshot, please don't be hurt, please--), who ended up huddling next to him, eyes wide and filled with shock. In the dim light he could see that her face was dusted with fragments of shattered brick; "It—it hit right next to my head—" she whispered, her skin ghostly white and beaded with a sudden sheen of sweat.
She seemed to be okay (ThankYou, some part of his mind whispered); Conan realized with a total lack of embarrassment that he was half-sprawled across her, shielding her with his small body as much as possible from the barrage of gunfire that was suddenly erupting outside. His head pounded, whether with the echoes of the shots being fired or with concussion, he couldn't really tell… Behind them both Mitsuhiko let out a faint, half-smothered squawk from under Genta's bulk, but neither he nor the larger boy seemed inclined to crawl out at the moment.
*What the HELL is going ON out there?!?*
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"……Ojiwa-sensei….. Over here, Ojiwa-sensei……."
*BOOM-BOOM-BOOOOMMM!!!* The bullets struck the slide at the other end of the playground, punching holes through the metal.
*I—HAVE—HAD—ENOUGH—OF—THIS!!!!!* Ojiwa's thoughts were a swirling, crazed torrent of fury, pain and hatred, all focusing around one thing, one single thought: *I'llkillthemkillthemkillthemkillthemall!!!*
Huddled inside the overhung enclosure in front of the playground bathroom, he gasped, hunched over against agony. The little bastards—this was all their fault—how DARED they have hurt him?!? Didn't they understand that he couldn't be hurt, shouldn't be hurt, he was on top of things, dammit, and they were supposed to die…..
Somehow it just didn't occur to him that four children, one concussed and all trapped inside a bathroom, were *not* very likely to be shooting at him. Something had ricocheted, or maybe a lucky shot had gotten through; all he knew was a burning in his side and warm, leaking wetness soaking his coat.
And the goddamned voices……… They were making him waste his bullets. They kept whispering to him, whispering and calling his name and he had to killthemkillthemkillthem….. He giggled a little; for some reason the thought of killing a voice seemed terribly funny right now.
"Ojiwa……. I'm over here, Ojiwa….. I can see you….."
*BOOM! B-DOWW-BOOM!!!* "Goddamn you, shut UP!!!" he howled at the top of his lungs, frustration clouding his vision with red. *Red—I'll see those little brats red on the ground, I'll see them DEAD--*
Ojiwa Ryu staggered slightly, leaning against the bathroom door and breathing hard as he popped another empty clip out to replace it. He had a few left, plenty to take care of business, four little devils and whoever else he was hearing from the playground and the roof and the air around him—Nodomo and the brat and—
(*but not the voice I heard in the hall, not that not that not that one, he's dead and I know he's dead and I didn't really see him No*)
He could just wait here for the voices to show themselves….. Sooner or later they would, and then he could take care of them. Ojiwa hissed at the pain in his side, sharp as glass—they'd PAY for that. He shifted his back against the door, settling his weight gradually as he scanned the playground for a target…..
….. and felt something behind him….. move.
The door gave—just a little, just a bit, just enough to gap. The madman's head turned slowly, slowly to stare at the inch-wide space between metal molding and metal door—
And grinned a terrible death's-head grin.
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*Dammit, sensei-no-baka, if you'd just step out from under that overhang I could show you a nice little magic trick; it's called 'The Amazing Unconscious Whacko' trick, and I only need one volunteer…..*
Hei-san flattened himself a little lower on the bathroom rooftop, mental imprecations against whoever had decided to build the damned thing on an incline running through his head. It wasn't that he couldn't climb it—he could climb something of this pitch or twice as steep in his sleep—it was just that if he dislodged anything it would roll off the edge and possibly alert the Whacko below.
*Speaking of which--* He snagged a bit of rolling debris with the toe of his right foot, catching it about a meter from the edge. *If this keeps up, my hair's gonna match my outfit. Kudo-kun, you can keep your murderers and investigations—I am NOT cut out for this line of work. If I hadn't made that promise--*
*What's… that sound? Sounded like a door opening----- Ohhhh SHIT-----*
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Across the playground Mouri wiped sweat from his eyes; they burned with salt, making him squint in the reddening sunlight. "Goddamn you, man… just take one step out where I can see you and---" he muttered, shifting painfully against a cramp in his leg.
Despite his discomfort he could feel his heart pounding hard with fierce eagerness; he WANTED a chance to get Ojiwa, wrong as that might be; the bastard had shot his wife, frightened his daughter—hell, he even wanted revenge for that damned Kudo boy! Mouri Kogoro gritted his teeth, steadying his small weapon carefully; nobody should be locked away like that—he kept remembering how limp the boy's small form had felt when he pulled him out, like a real little kid's…..
….. and there was Toshiro and Nodomo, too….. and all the other deaths that he expected to be able to trace back to the adjuncted drug shipments (God only knew what the bastard had been cutting them with)…..
Oh yes; he wanted Ojiwa, wanted him for a lot of very good reasons. And if he'd just slip up for a *second* he'd have his chance— Hey, had something just moved on the roof?!? …..Nahh, must've been a shadow…..
*click… creak….* What was that? The tiny noises were just audible in the near-silence of the empty playground.
Then Mouri knew, just KNEW somehow that the bathroom door was opening and that the murderer was going to— and his daughter was inside and she would be—
*@#$#@!!! RAN!!!*
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*Oh SHIT.* Conan had just noticed the door. The heavy metal wastecan, the one that had massively saved their hides by bracing the door—it was round, and flat-bottomed round things tended to sort of roll along their edges and settle themselves back into place after a while when the pressure against them lessened…..
….. and he had just seen it shift.
Beneath him he heard three indrawn breaths, one ending in a squeak of terror: the others had been watching the door too, and they had seen the inch-wide line of door-edge that had opened inwards, had heard the thin rasp of moving hinges. The boy felt warmth trace his skin as a narrow bar of late-afternoon sunlight fell across his face, glittering, gleaming---
--gleaming like the cold steel of the gun that slid between door and doorjamb, gleaming like the crazed eye that fixed on their faces from beyond the opening—
Conan's hand tightened on Rin's as he pushed himself even further in front of her, shielding her as best he could with his life…..
*The bullets'll probably go right through me and hit her anyway. Oh God, Ran, I'm so sorry—so sorry, Mitsuhiko, Genta--*
Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion:
the gun-barrel, steadying---
the eyes, fever bright and narrowing---
finger on the trigger, tightening---
………tightening……….
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Ojiwa Ryu squinted through the small opening, eyes fixed and glassy, a horrible joy shrieking in his head—
*got you at last, got you got you GOT YOU NOW LITTLE BASTARDS DIE-----*
"Ojiwa-sensei?"
*---What--* He twisted sideways to see
….….. to see……….
*------No------you're dead------ YOU'RE DEAD-----*
The gun fell from nerveless fingers, clattered on the floor—
"Ojiwa-sensei….." The boy was looking at him he was dead but he was right here and he was walking towards him—
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Across the schoolgrounds Haibara Ai's small blonde head jerked up at the distant sound of what could not be called a scream so much as a howl, a broken, mindless kind of noise she had only heard previously in nightmares. On the stretcher being loaded into the ambulance Eri-san's face whitened even more, and the policemen that were beginning to edge around the outside of the school towards where the gunshots had been coming from looked at each other, shaken…..
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Hei-san's head shot up so fast he almost lost his balance and slid; *Whatthehell--??* He had heard a voice, an unfamiliar little kid's voice—
Behind his bench, Mouri Kogoro choked suddenly on his own breath at the momentary sight of a child less than ten feet from the killer—
And then there came the *shriek* that froze them both where they were, made beads of sweat pop up on the back of Hei-san's neck (though an observer would find his thin, dusty face strangely dry), made Mouri's eyes widen in shock and his trigger-finger tighten—
--Ojiwa was suddenly pelting across the playground, running hell-bent and weaponless towards the fence with his face in a rictus of terror that was hardly anything like human—
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*GetAwayGetAwayGetAwayNoNoNoNoNoNo*
He was running, he was running-- *Don'tLookBackDon'tLookBackGetAwayGetAwayGetAwayNOOOOO*
The gate to the road was open, they couldn't stop him now, scott-free and gone He'd get away with everything—
"Ojiwa-sensei? Where are you going, Ojiwa-sensei?"
*NONONONONOLEAVEMEALONE!!!*
Out the gate nowNowNOW, down the sidewalk-stairs and across the street to freedom—
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When the large, heavy delivery truck swung around the corner by the school, it was traveling a little too quickly to stop; the horrified driver of the sixteen-wheeler tried to, though, skidding sideways with a horrendous sound:
SKREEEEEEEEEE---
--twisting, warping, the metal of its cargo-box tearing like paper as it seemed to slide across the asphalt in slow motion towards the running man, who paused and stared open-mouthed at the slowly-toppling mass of metal that came to meet him, gracefully falling—
--EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE—
--the logo reading 'DAISUKE INTERNATIONAL COFFEE PRODUCTS' on the metal wall ripped across with a sound like tearing silk, as the Sunday-only special delivery for one Nodomo Hiroku spilled out all over the road, small white packets mixed in everywhere among the coffee—
--EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE—
--Ojiwa raised his arms, shielding himself futilely from his fate, his terrified eyes perfectly aware of what was about to happen to him—
--EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECHHHHHHHH------
----------------------(falling, falling)--------------------------------CRRRRUNCH!!!
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Inside the Boy's bathroom, a very brave, very tired little girl hugged herself against the sudden silence and wondered if it was safe to come out yet…..
Inside the Girl's bathroom four children (two perfectly normal, two perfectly not) stared in utter puzzlement at the handgun that lay harmless as a dead snake on the tiles…..
On a playground a private detective stared in horrified shock at the wreck outside the fence, stumbling through the gate to help the groaning driver from the half-demolished cab; from a rooftop a thief watched, eyes hooded and still. He nodded once to himself briefly, thinking about how much crueler justice is than vengeance…..
On a wall in a corridor in the depths of the school a patch of somewhat dented plaster lay dry, innocent and white, any stains long since washed away, as clean as bleach and a janitor's disgruntled multiple scrubbings could make it…..
…..And Conan blinked hard against the fuzziness in his vision and the mental image of Toshiro's face: full of sorrow but somehow… satisfied.
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Ysabet's Notes: Well, he's dead, and I'm glad. Very, very, very, very glad. I created the character and I *STILL* hated his guts. Take that, Ojiwa-sensei! SQUISH!!! HA HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Ahem….. sorry. Well, no, actually I'm not sorry. The Epilogue (which, sad to say, has just hit over 15,000 words, which sort of puts it in the "whopping huge chapter" category) will be up within 24 hours…..
